Page 14 of Shelter for Shay (Broken Heroes Mended Souls #2)

Andy seemed to pick up on that. “Hey, you been following that trial? Tech exec who murdered his assistant?”

Moose nodded. “Shay mentioned it and she’s all worried she might end up on that jury since she’s been summoned and it tracks when the jury will be picked. The whole thing sounds messy.”

“It’s more than messy. I had a hand in that arrest. One of our troopers caught the call when the security guard found the body. What we found on his hard drive? It’s going to make headlines for months. Jacob’s already bracing for the circus. Feds, state, media, every network you can name.”

“Bet he’s thrilled.” Jacob had been the ADA when Moose had been a kid, but Moose also remembered Jacob had done a stint as an FBI agent for a couple of years. Talk about a man to be afraid of.

Andy snorted. “Jacob doesn’t like neat, boring crimes he can wrap in a bow. But he can’t stand high-profile tech bros with murder charges and shady boardroom secrets that will bring its own shitstorm.”

Moose nodded once. “It’ll eat the town alive.”

“Yep,” Andy said. “I hope Shay can avoid being on that jury if she’s called up the same time as Jacob is picking one. Unfortunately, Shay is perfect for that kind of trial. Jacob wouldn’t let her go, and neither would the defense. That girl has fair and impartial written all over her.”

Moose went still at that. Just the thought of Shay caught in that mess made something tighten in his chest.

“Can I ask you something about a different topic regarding Shay?” Moose asked.

“If it’s about the fact I took her out on a couple of dates, nothing happened, man. We went to dinner a couple times and a movie. That’s it. I swear.”

“She’s not your type.”

“And she’s yours?”

Moose ran a hand over his mouth to hide his smile. “She might be, but that’s not what I want to ask you about.”

“You’ve piqued my interest.”

“What do you know about her dad?”

“Nothing,” Andy said. “According to Shay, he wasn’t from Lake George.

I asked my dad if he’d ever met him, and he doesn’t even remember him.

But he didn’t really know Margaret until she was working in the school system.

Jared said he’d never met him, which is odd, because Jared and his family know everyone. I can’t believe he’s a grandfather.”

“I can’t believe anyone dared to ask out his daughter.”

“I work with his son-in-law, Calvin. Not a bad kid. Reminds me of my dad. Uptight and a rules guy.” Andy rolled his eyes. “But Shay’s dad is a bit of a mystery. Why do you want to know?”

“I think she’s just feeling every ounce of her mom’s death, like I’m trying to nail down the past.” He waved his finger at the bar, which was taunting him like a stray bullet. “Shay wants to know hers.”

“I know she tried to find him once and she got a name but never did anything with it. Even if she does find him, I’m not sure she’ll get the answers she wants. He left, and he’s never once come back. Never called. That speaks volumes.”

“I understand that better than most, but sometimes it’s not about the connection and simply knowing all the whys.”

“We both know biology doesn’t make the man.” Andy clapped a hand to Moose’s shoulder. “You sure you don’t want me to walk in with you?”

Moose shook his head. “This one’s on me. I needed the pep talk. Now I need to finish it.”

Andy stepped back and nodded once. “Call me if you need a beer after. I’m already off duty. All I need to do is shed the uniform.”

“No offense, but I think I’d rather spend the rest of the evening with Shay.”

Andy laughed.

Moose watched him leave, then turned toward the door with his heart beating in the center of his throat.

With more than a little trepidation, he pushed open the door and immediately his nose was assaulted with a fog of smoke and cheap whiskey.

Bad eighties music filtered through speakers that sounded like they were underwater.

Or maybe it was just the way the bands played back then because it was exactly as he remembered.

A few biker dudes hung around the pool table, holding on to the pool sticks instead of using them to play the game. A couple of scantily dressed women hung on their arms.

The lighting in the bar was dim, and everything in it as forgettable as the thousand stories being whispered that no one wanted to tell twice.

His mom stood behind the counter like nothing had changed, wearing a low-cut shirt, no bra, her breasts half hanging out like she were a teenager.

Her hair was dyed too dark for her age, lipstick smudged at the corner of her mouth, a half-burned cigarette resting in the tray near the register even though she couldn’t legally smoke inside.

As if that ever stopped her.

Her eyes met his as she wiped the counter. She paused, staring at him with a confused expression. She glanced over her shoulder, as if he were there to see someone else.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” she said, not smiling. “The prodigal son returns.”

“Hey, Ma,” he said quietly, taking a seat at the bar.

She placed a coaster in front of him. “What can I get ya?”

“Bourbon. Neat.”

“Aren’t you a big boy.” She turned, snagged a bottle, poured a double, and set the glass in front of him. “You back for good or just came to check if I’m still breathing? Or maybe you want money. Yeah. That’s probably it.”

“Nah. I don’t need anything from you,” he said as the weight melted off his shoulders from years of holding on to stuff that meant nothing.

She might have created him, but she wasn’t responsible for the person.

No, Margaret had been partially responsible for that.

And then he’d done the rest. “Just thought… we should talk.” He lifted the glass and took a sip. Damn cheap stuff burned going down.

She leaned her elbows on the bar, sizing him up like he was danger. “You want to talk now? After you ran off sixteen years ago? You abandoned me and your father. You’re an ungrateful little shit.”

Well, that was a statement. “I’m not here to fight,” he said. “I just lost the one person who ever cared if I lived or died. I don’t have space for grudges right now. I was in town and thought I should stop by and say hello.”

Her expression didn’t shift. But something behind her eyes flickered. Guilt? Regret? It passed too fast to catch and he wasn’t in the space to chase it.

“I always cared,” she said. “You just didn’t like the way I showed it and expected too much. You were always a needy and demanding child.”

He laughed. Loudly. “You showed it by disappearing for days. By choosing every bottle and every man you turned a trick for over your own kid.” He held up his hand. “And as far as me being needy goes? I think that’s just a kid wanting his mother to tuck him in at night.”

“Right, because I had so many choices in life,” she snapped, voice suddenly sharp. “You think I wanted this life? You think my dreams were tied up in being a bartender and now waiting for your dad to get out of prison? What are you, high?”

“No,” Moose said calmly. “But let’s be honest since I’m sitting here. You didn’t want me, but getting rid of me meant losing the help you got from the government.”

She looked like he’d slapped her. But she didn’t argue. She simply glared as what little fight she had in her floated off her skin.

“I’m not here to fix anything,” he said. “I just needed to look you in the eye and say I made it. You didn’t break me.”

She blinked, and this time, her mouth trembled just a little. “So, you’re here to gloat.”

“No. I just thought you’d want to know that your son is a decorated SEAL.

” He downed the rest of his drink before pulling out a twenty and slapping it on the counter, feeling like a thousand pounds had shifted off his chest and landed somewhere behind him.

“Take care of yourself,” he said, turning toward the door.

She didn’t say goodbye.

And she didn’t stop him either. That said it all.

He stepped outside and sucked in a deep breath of fresh air. He glanced around the parking lot.

A man dressed in a dark suit leaned against a fancy sports car with a cell in his hand. He glanced up, stuck his phone in his pocket, opened the driver’s side door, and slipped behind the wheel. A minute later, he drove away.

Moose shook his head. The man—and his car—didn’t belong at Kelly’s Taproom.

Then again, addiction didn’t discriminate, and this place was known for being the place to buy.

Moose climbed into his rental, started the engine, and headed back to Shay’s, his past finally firmly in his rearview, and his present and future, well… she had a name.

He hoped.